God's Plan: The Summer Log

I have always wanted to do a log but I have never had the time or consistency to do so. After deciding that I would get as shredded as possible this summer and my college graduation happening at the end of this week, I figured this would be as good a time as any.

Background: I've encountered just about every setback possible in the past 6 months, during which I replaced approximately 20 pounds of lbm with a lot of water and fat. I've been try to get back to my old shape (and then surpass it) for the past 1.5 months or so. I've progressively dialed in my diet and gotten increasingly serious about my goals. I'm blessed to have the opportunity to not only run a whole host of different and new products from TROOPS but also a lot of returned products to Whole Foods that my on-again off-again girlfriend gives me - after all, it can only help right? Even so, I'm plagued with a chronically banged up knee from a squat gone wrong three years ago and a few bulging disks in my back from a slip and fall about 10 years ago. Still, I'm on a mission to Make My Physique Great Again and nothing will stop me. My goal is to cut these last few stubborn pounds then 'clean bulk' to my old form. All the while, I'll try to utilize that good ol' muscle memory and reasonably increase my lifts every two weeks. Hope y'all enjoy the journey as much as I will.

Started using Eradicate-E since it got here a little early. I'm taking 1 capsule in the morning and 1 in the afternoon for 50mg total - haven't decided whether or not I will bump it up to 75mg eventually. I'll probably add in some bulk LCLT later this week. Got a really late night workout in around midnight. I had to cut my leg workout short the previous day so I went to hit calves and do 20 minutes of cardio. Also decided to hit arms since the gym was entirely empty. Had a ridiculous pump and felt really good - probably a little bit of placebo from Eradicate-E but I'll take it.

Calories: Approximately 1850. Protein: 166g Carbohydrates: 140g Fat: 68g. A little short of my 2250 goal but I was rather sedentary and had a hard night Saturday so it all worked out. Note: I don't count my fat intake from fish oil.

Today was an active rest day. I was angry as hell going to the gym so I upped the cardio intensity and did a prolonged cool down. In short, 20 minutes turned into 32. I hit some captain's chair for abs and planned on doing more (decline sit-ups, weighted Russian twists, and ab wheel rollouts) but the ab room was packed and I had birthday plans to get to that necessitated I cut my time short. I'll have to do those with tomorrow's workout. It was my first workout with Cluster Bomb and I was skeptical of a strawberry kiwi flavor at first but its delicious.

Calories: Approximately 2250. Protein: 140g Carbohydrates: 198g Fat: 75g. I probably ate a little more than I'm estimating since I splurged a bit on some birthday cake and a free halal guys platter but I'll make up for it later in the week.

I had planned to go to the gym and do Push A but I lost track of time with some friends and wasn't able to make it. My favorite kabob spot in the city siced me with extra bread at lunch since I hadn't been there in awhile, which of course I couldn't turn down.

Calories: 2395 Protein: 105g Carbohydrates: 300g Fat: 52g. Was definitely a little lower in protein than I would have liked but I had some leftover cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory for my birthday that was calling my name when I got home. I plan to make up for it with an extra hard workout tomorrow and a more dialed-in diet for the rest of the week.

Many bodybuilders sell themselves short. Erroneously attributing their lack of satisfactory progress to a poverty of the requisite genetic traits, instead of to their irrational training and dietary practices, they give up training. Don't make the same mistake

It was a long day but I still made it to the gym for 20 minutes of cardio and push day. I just started with the LCLT and tried mixing it with Cluster Bomb but that was a total no go - the sweetness of strawberry kiwi was completely neutralized. I still choked it down though. All and all it was a decent workout. I replaced standing military presses with dumbbell presses which felt much better on my shoulders. Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a rush for plans later that night so I subbed flat bench for dumbbell bench. That wouldn't be a problem if my apartment gym had dumbbells over 50lbs. I made the best of it though by significantly decreasing my rest times. I also threw in some extra tricep work because I was just feeling it. The plans wound up falling through as I was closing out my gym session but by then I had no interest in doing anymore lifts. It was all probably for the best anyways as I likely saved myself from drinking 500+ calories and getting terrible sleep.

Calories: 1800 Protein: 145g Carbohydrate: 215g Fat: 40g. This was probably where I'd like to be next week as I try to make up for what I know will be an indulgent graduation weekend. I felt pretty content throughout the day with this ratio.

Today was a hectic day. I took off work to clean my house before family arrived and got only about half of it done before I had to run to campus to pick up graduation tickets and then immediately head to a bar for an informational interview. I both love and hate when these interviews happen at bars because its free beer but not free calories. I didn't get to the gym today because I just had too much to do and not enough time. I'll try and get in there to at least do some maintenance cardio Friday-Sunday but given the unique nature of the weekend, who knows.

Calories: 3,250 I have little idea about the macros for today because the pizza joint only had calorie totals, but at least they had that. I had 2 pints of Guinness at the bar which wasn't terrible but every little bit adds up. Dinner plans fell through because my dog wouldn't let us leave the apartment so I wound up having pizza and wings. I also used my free cookie coupon they sent me as a birthday reward so it was a cheat day all around. I'll try to burn it off with some cardio tomorrow unless the family decides to start celebrating hard tomorrow night when they get in - in which case its a no from me.

Another hectic day. Most of my family arrived for graduation today and I had to work (they came in the evening) so I got little exercise done outside of walking. Of course celebrations were in order so my carefully crafted diet was out the window. I have no idea how many calories I ate and drank but I'd estimate it around 3000-3500. It is not going to get much better this weekend. I've still been keeping on track with my supplement regimen, including Ep1logue and Eradicate-E for what its worth. Hopefully they'll kick in after this crazy weekend is over.

Today was the smaller graduation ceremony for my college/school. It was a bit bittersweet. I'm a little salty I didn't know about a photo op at the end and wasted a potentially good photo. On the nutrition side of things, I started the morning off light because I knew it was my only hope to stymie some of the damage happening later. I downed a protein shake and some Cluster Bomb and then went to the ceremony. I was starving afterwards so I grabbed Mexican with the family - the chips stood no chance and I devoured an entire basket by myself in about 5 minutes flat. The rest of the day wasn't too indulgent but I did enjoy some drinks and complimentary dessert at Del Friscos. Again, I'm taking a wild guess here but my caloric intake was probably near 4,000-4,500.

Today was the larger commencement ceremony on the National Mall. It was great, except our speaker sucked and it was brutally hot. On the plus side, I got to light up this Cohiba I had been saving for months for this day. Another guestimate kind of day but caloric intake was probably near the 4,000-5,000 range.

With the graduation celebrations finally over, I'll have to go back to my diet. What a shame. I could really get used to eating so indulgently. My mom decided to spend an extra day in DC so I squeezed one last cheat day out of the trip and ate about 3,500-4,000 calories. I've already decided that for the rest of the week I'm going to really limit the calories as a kind of penance for my caloric sins. It wont be anything too extreme but I'll stay at or right under 2000 for sure. I'm also upping the cardio to 25 minutes each day now. Additionally, I'll be hitting abs 3 times a week now but I had planned to do that regardless of this indulgent weekend.

From the supplementation side of things, I have been remarkably consistent with my regimen. The only exception here is that I did not keep up with the fish oil nor turmeric intake this weekend. Hopefully Eradicate-E doesn't make me pay for that but so far I haven't felt the joint pain everyone mentions. I'm sure its coming like a thief in the night though. This week should be where I'll really see the difference, if any, from it and Ep1logue.

I didn't make it to the gym today. I felt tired as hell even after taking pre-workout and my final EC dose. I decided it was best to listen to my body so I just went to sleep early. On the bright side, my caloric intake was low so it evens out in some way I guess. On a supplementation note, I finally feel the joint pain kicking in from Eradicate-E. It feels like I'm eradicating my joints. I went to walk down the escalator to the metro and felt like I was already on the train to snap city. I have decided to change my fish oil ratios around and use my of the concentrated oils. I just finished a bottle of Flex-O-Mega so I had gone back to my Vitacost brand oil and back down to 2 as opposed to 4 a day. I don't know if simply adding the 2 extra pills will make a difference so I'm aiming for 6 concentrated caps and about 5-10 low concentration caps a day now. Hopefully, that will mitigate some of this joint discomfort.

Calories: Approximately 1,600 Protein: 85g Carbohydrates: 175g Fat: 60g. I had to do some guess work with my leftovers from lunch and my usual Thai dish for dinner so my protein was probably a bit higher but the calorie count looked about right. Now that I'm back to cooking for myself and not eating out with the family, this should look a lot more in line with expectations in the coming days.